Metallic crate.



No. 874,782. PATBNTBD DEG. 24, 1907. J. MATHY.

METALLIC CRATE.

AP'PLIOATION FILED APB.11, 1907.

2 SHEE'TS-SHEET 1.

e Z @.275 c mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm '110.874,782. PATENTED DBG.`24,1907.

LMATHY'. f

METALLIC CRATE.

APPLICATION HLnDAPn. 11. 19,07.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v A ,nvcnlozz JosephrMath lUNITED ,STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH MATHY, OF HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS.

:METALLIC CRATE.

\ I I I Application filed April 11.1907- Serial No. 367.569.

To all 'whom it 'may concern:

Be itknown that I, JOSEPH MATHY; of Hot S rings, in the county of Garland and State of) Arkansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallic Crates; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification. This invention is an improvement in metallic crates for carrying bottles containing fluids, such as milk, beer and thelike, and its" object is to'provide a strong durable crate the parts of whiclfcan be practically stamped out of sheet-metal, in sections, and thence readily assembled and securely united together, forming a stiff strong durable boX. The crates furthermore are made with tapered sides so that they are smaller at top than at bottom, and the .bottoms of the crates are inset, so that one crate will fit over and upon another, the bottom of a superposed crate closing the top of the underlying crate, and the latter preventing lateral displacement of the former.

The crates are to be watertight, so that they can contain ice to'refrigerat'e their contents, and if any bottle breaksf.- the fluid is not spilled into the Wagon; furtherv the crates are preferably provided with grates which separate the bottles, and are preferably made removable so that the crates can b e easily cleaned. The crates are also provided with novel covers-to protect their contents-,and which Yare so constructed as not to -interfere with the nesting of the crates.

One feature of theinvention is thepec'uliar joint between the bottom and sidewalls of the crate, the joint being so made as to form a de vending flange which is of larger internal iameter than the top of the crate and which-aordsa broad bearingsurface to support the crate on the floor, and dis enses with the necessity of any bottom relnforcing band. Furthermore thecrate is formed Withrounded corners, so that it can be'more readily cleansed, will be more convenient tohandle, and will not be as liable to injure other objects or crates when tossed about, as such crates are subject to rough usage and handling. v r;

I will now describe the crate and grate as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and refer-to the claims for statement of the n ovl lfeatures for which protection is desire Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1907.

Insaid drawings-'Figure 1 is a top plan view of the com lete crate with cover artly broken away. ig. 2 is an end view tgereof partly broken away, and partly in section to illustrate how the crates are nested, and how the covers are applied. Fig. 3 isa detail vertical section of the crate, cover and grate. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section through the bottom joint of the crate. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the grate removed. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a slight modification of the grate. Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview illustrating one of the joints and the support disconnected. Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are details illustrating the construction of the grate v joints.

The side and end walls of. the crate are preferably constructed of two' similar opposed metal plates 1, which are bent approximately into -U shape, their extremities being connected by interlocking'joints as at 1a, at about the central linesof the ends of the crate, this enables the side and end walls to be formed racticallyintegral,and tobe stam ed by dies om sheets of suitable metal, pre erably heavy sheet-iron. The side and end walls are tapered inwardly from top to bottom as shown, so that the top of the crate is smaller in diameter than its bottom.

Around the upper end vor top of the crate is applied-'a stiffening metal band 2, and the upper edges of the walls of the crate are turned over the upper edge ofsaid band as at 1b; and said band may be further fastened permanently in place by rivets 2a as shown.

The lower edges of the walls of the crate are formed with a depending flange 3, which is offset from the walls, as indicated at 3, so that the flange 3 is of lar er diameter than the base diameter of the wa s, and the flange 3 has an outwardly turned foot-portion 3b which is adapted to lie fiat upon the .surface on which the vflange rests.

The bottom 4 of the crate is stamped by suitable dies from a Sheet-of metal, and is adapted to fit closely within the flange 3 and up against the offset .3a. The bottom is stamped with a depending flange 4, adapted to fit closely within and against fla 3z and the lower part of flange 4 is turned onzontally outward under the horizontal foot-portion 3b of flange 3, and isgthen bent upward and over the part 3b, vas at`40, as shown more clearly Fig. 4, By this construction the bottom 4 is fitted closely in the crate, and

the parts 3, 4", form a depending supporting flange of double thickness supporting the bottom above the surface on which the crate rests, and the parts 4b, 3b, 4,.form a basebeaI'ing-fiange of triple thickness supporting the crate upon the surface on which 1t rests. This triple-thickness bearing-flange extends entirely around the crate, and projects outwardly beyond the supporting' flange ,-and I purposely make the bearing-flange portions 3b, 4b, noticeably Wide, so that the part 4b in contact'with the surface upon which the crate rests is of much greater area than would be afforded if the part 4b turned directly upward against the outer side of flange 3. By this construction I retain the full thickness of metal in the part 4b to withstand the Wear and strainto which the bearing-flange is subjected, and this part 4b is not strained or weakened as. it would be by bending it 'directly upward against flange 3, consequently its strength is retained, and the broad wearing surface afforded by Jthe part 4b will resist Wear indefinitely long, and by providing this broad bearing-flange I am enabled to dispense with any reinforcing metal band around the base of the crate.

In order to close the top of crate and protect or conceal its contents, it may be provided with a cover le, as shown. This cover is preferably stamped out of sheet metal and is slightly smaller than the internal area of the top of the crate, so that it can be placed therein as shown, and it is provided with an upstanding peripheralflange 1f which isadapted to fit pretty closely within the upper end of the crate g and flange 1f is provided atv top with an outwardly projecting return bend forming a supporting flange 1g by which the cover is` supplorted upon the upper?= edge of the crate' as s own.

The cover may be removably fastened in position by suitable means; I prefer to use the catches lhattached to flat spring plates 1i which are secured to the flange 11 of the cover, which flange' is perforated for the passage of catches 1h.

When the cover is put in place, the end of catch 1h springs into an aperture 2h made in the top band 2 of the crate, asshown, and thus securely locks the cover in/place. Preferably two such catches are used, one at each end of the crate cover. Rings 1k can be attached to the inner ends of the catches 1h as shown to facilitate their disengagement from the crate. The cover thus constructed will not interfere with the boxes nesting one upon the other-see Fig. 2, and will protect the contents of the crate from exposure.

The crate is provided with handles 5 riveted to its ends as shown, or otherwise suitably attached thereto. It is also provided with a grating which may be permanently riveted therein as indicated in Fig. 1, or removably placed therein as indicated in Fig. 2.

The grating is preferably constructed of two series of intersecting metal straps Gand 7. The straps are Wider than straps 7, and are provided at the' intersecting points with slots 6a, for the passage of straps 7, said slots being preferably formed by partly punching outtongues 6* in the straps 6, as shown in Fig. 9, so that the straps 7 can be readily slipped therethrough. After the straps 7 are in place, theftongues 6b can be forced back, as indicated in Fig. 10, so as to bind tightly against the strap 7 and -lock the latter" in place. If desired the straps 7 may be provided With indentations 7 a at their intersecting points, so that the tongues can be forced This construction affords a very strong durav ble and cheap grating.

If it is desired to have the grating fixed in the crate, the ends of the straps 6 and 7 may. be riveted to the side walls of the crate as shown at 6", 7e, Fig. 1. When the grate is to be removable, I provide it with supports 8, preferably formed of U shaped metal bands, having their upper ends slotted to einbrace straps 7, and then turned over the upper edges of straps 6, as shown in Figs. 5, 7. This constructionfmakes a very strong and efficient support, secures the supports rigidly to the grating, and enables it to be readily removed and replaced, and supports the grate at a proper height above the bottom ofthe crate. The removable grates may be provided with an inclosing band 9 riveted to the ends of the straps 6 and 7 as indicated in Figs. 2, 5. Or such band can be dispensed with and the extremities of the straps 6 and 7 rounded, as indicated in Fig. 6.

From the foregoing descri tion it will be seen that the crate is sinip e in construction, ca able of standing hard usage, easily cleansed), and will nest nicely; and the grate is simple strong and eflcient. l

Preferably after the crates are put together they are galvani zed,. so that the galvanizing bdeposits seals the jointsv herinetically, and

.gratos are also preferably galvanized after they are formed, for like reason.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The `herein described metallic crate, having its side Walls formed with an offset depending flange provided with a horizontally projecting foot -portion, an inset bottom plece provided with a depending flange closely fitting the depending flange of the side Walls and having a horizontal flange extending under and lapped over and upon the said foot-portion, the vertical portion of said flanges forming a double wall sup orting flange upholding the bottom above t e surface upon which the crate rests and the hori zontalv portions of said flanges forming a triple Walled bearing-flange having a broad bearing surface on its underside, substantially as described.

2. The herein described metallic crate comprising two opposite metal portions bent into approximately U-shape and united at their ends to form the side and end Walls of the crate, said walls being formed with an ofl'set depending flange. at their base, said depending flange having a horizontally extending foot-lmrtion; and a bottom piece stam )ed from sheet niet-al having a depending flange -fitted closely within the .offset flange of the Walls, and having a horizontally extending portion underlying the said footportion,and turned over and lapped upon said foot-portion and forming therewith a bearing flange broad on its under surface and extending entirely around the base of the crate, the Wallsof the crate being inclined inwardly from bottom to top so that the top of one crate is adapted to fit within the su rporting flanges of a like crate, substantially as described.

'3. The herein described metallic crate having its side and end walls formed of two opposite metal portions bent into approximately U-shape, the crate having rounded corners, and said side Walls being inclined so that the upper end of the crate is smaller than the base portion, said walls being formed with an offset depending base flange having a horizontally extending foot-portion; a bottom piece having a depending flange fitted closely Within the offset flange of the Walls, and

having a horizontally extending portion underlying and turned over and lapped upon said foot-portion, the vertical portions of the said flanges forming a double Walled supporting flange and the said foot-portion inclosing flanges forming a double Walled bearing flange, said bearing flange being broad on its under vsurface and extending entirely around the base of the crate, the top of one crate being adapted to fit Within the supporting flange of a like crate, substantially as described.

4. In combination with a crate, a grating therefor, comprising a series of intersecting straps arranged edgewise, one set of said straps having tongued slots through Which the othervset ofstraps are passed, the free 'ends of the tongues being forced back to lock. the straps in the slots.

5. A grating composed of a plurality of parallel straps arranged edgewise and having tongued slots formed by partiallypunching tongues therefrom, and a' plurality of intersecting straps also arranged edgewise and extending through the slots in the first series of straps, the second set of straps having indentations at the intersecting points, and thel free ends of the tongues being forced into said indentations to lock the straps.

6. A grating comprising two sets of intersecting metal straps arranged edgewise, one set of said straps having tongued slots through whichv the other set of straps are passed, the free end of the tongues locking the straps in. the slots, and an inclosing band surrounding the grating and attached to the exterior ends of the straps.

7. A grating composed of a series of parallel straps arranged edgewise and having slots formed by partially punching tongues therefrom, a second series of stra s also arranged edgewise and extending t rough the slots in 'the first series'of straps, the second set of straps having indentatlons at their intersecting points, the free ends of the tongues being forced into said indentations to lock the straps, and aninclosing band surrounding thegrating and attached to the exterior ends of the straps.

8. In combination with a crate, a. grating therefor, comprising a series of intersecting straps, one set of said straps having tongued slots through Which the other set of straps are passed, the tongues being forced back to lock the straps in the slots, and U-sha c d supports attached to the grate to uphol 1t Within the crate.

In testimony that I claim the foregolng as my own, I aflix my signature in presence of'two Witnesses.

n JOSEPH MA'IHY.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR E. DoWELL, JOHN L. FLETCHER. 

